


Jolene

by resolutioninclockwork



Series: The Playlist [5]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Correspondence, F/M, Mentions of potential infidelity, letter format
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23616787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resolutioninclockwork/pseuds/resolutioninclockwork
Summary: Cullen Rutherford, in an attempt to find something to cling to outside of the Templar order, marries a dwarven merchant in Kirkwall. When she accompanies him to join the Inquisition, she realizes just how tenuous her relationship might be.Originally posted on Tumblr aaaaaages ago, but I'm going through my works and figured I'd toss it up here. :)
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Playlist [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/809280
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Jolene

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this more than a year ago, but never posted it here. I've been out of fandom for a while, and I don't know whether or not I'll jump back in, but the completionist in me wanted to post whatever I'd left out. 
> 
> I'm sure it's pretty obvious, but the song inspiration here is Jolene, by Dolly Parton. :)

My Lady Inquisitor Lavellan –

I write to you in desperation, as I have found myself at wit’s end.

There is no easy way for me to explain my situation, so I will be blunt: my husband has grown uncomfortably invested in you, and I must humbly beg you to dissuade him. I am unsure of the nature of his infatuation, but it has grown to the point that I can no longer sit idly by. Perhaps I am an insecure woman, and if this is the case, I offer my apologies in advance. However, I feel I must present my case to you fully.

When we arrived to assist the Inquisition, the rumors were quick to follow. I am aware that our relationship was uncommon – a Templar wed to a dwarf is rare enough to cause comment most anywhere. Combine that with his notoriety, and we were bound to be the subject of many whispered conversations. I know that there were secret offers made, from human and elven women alike, but my husband is not one for lightly tossing aside his vows. Instead, he took to his duties nearly to the exclusion of all else. At least I knew if he would not make it to my side at night, it was not due to his attentions to another woman.

That is, until you came along.

He hated you at first, you know. Thought you a murderer and a liar, until you proved yourself. Hate is a close cousin to love, however, and his loathing transformed in the space of a breath. From that moment on, he has been your staunchest supporter, your greatest admirer. He works tirelessly – well past what is healthy for him, as we both know – and it is all in service to you. To him, you and the Inquisition are one and the same.

This shouldn’t be the issue it is, however. It is not uncommon for a soldier to devote his body and soul to his commander in the pursuit of a cause. I do believe it to be less common that he calls out for his superior in the throes of a nightmare. You are aware of his withdrawals – we have spoken of them on a few occasions – and of late, he has called out your name in his pleas for peace and salvation. He vehemently denies this, and swears that I must have misheard. I swear to you, my Lady – I have not. It stings in ways I’ve never known, the knowledge that when my beloved is afraid he calls out another name. I have prayed to the Ancestors, to the Maker, and even to your Creators that it could be me instead…

I do not dare to cast aspersions on your person or your intentions, but I have seen the way you speak to him. I fear he may misjudge your politeness and your banter for something more encouraging, and the thought gives me chills.

I have loved none so much in my life as I do him, and though I do not understand why he showed a simple merchant dwarf such as myself so much as a passing glance… Well. Ours has never been a fable romance. I am grateful I could be his support when he has needed me thus far, but I cannot hope to stand against the Herald of Andraste and the face of the Inquisition in a contest of the heart. Not only that – he has described an elven mage from the Circle in Ferelden, and there is more than a passing resemblance. I believe he loved her once, you see. He has never looked at me with the soft affection he showed when speaking of Neria, but I see it sometimes when he looks at you. I fear perhaps I am in competition with a hero sent by the Maker and a ghost, and I believe that I am losing.

Jolene, I beg of you. If you have ever called me friend, please help me now. I know I love him more than he loves me, and I have had time to come to terms with that. I cannot bear to lose him, though. He is my golden Commander, and though I am no great beauty, at one point he cared enough for me to take me to his side. I truly believe that the slightest indication of a reciprocated affection would be the end of us, regardless of the vows he has taken with me.

Please, my Lady. I do not know where else to turn.

Your loyal servant,  
Agatha Dace Rutherford (Signed and blurred slightly through a single drop of moisture)


End file.
